After much thought and consideration, I have decided to travel on to a new location, Istanbul!  Since I have been seriously searching for jobs and sending out my CV to schools all over the world, I finally had three serious job offers.  One was in Poland, which was of great interest to me, because I really loved Wroclaw when I was there.  However, I would have had to start up my “own business” to get paid, and that whole process just sounds like a lot more stress that I certainly do not need right now.  Another offer was in Prague, and this was an excellent offer.  Nevertheless, the main issue was that they wanted me to come prior to the 19^th of January (when I am allowed to re-enter the European Union) and the pay was low, especially considering the fact that when I researched rents, it seems that half of my pay would be going to paying for a room to rent.  Therefore, the offer in Istanbul that pays me the best and gives me a housing allowance definitely looks to be the best choice!  Even better is the fact that I have another job that has been talking to me there with even better pay and hours, plus there is an abundance of other teaching jobs that are also listed in Istanbul.  So no matter what happens, it seems that employment will be much easier there.

Since I have had these three offers, I have been searching all over for plane tickets to these destinations.  Yes, I know this is crazy, but the absolute cheapest I have found to any of these places within the next month were tickets on either the 25^th or the 30^th to Istanbul for $1200.  Since I have plans up until the 26^th here in Buenos Aires, I booked a flight to Istanbul on the 30^th of December.  Then a few hours after booking this, I realized that I actually moved last year on the 30^th of December when I was in Phoenix, which is rather interesting!  It must be a fabulous moving date for me since it has happened two years in a row!

So yesterday, on the day of the Winter Solstice that marks the beginning of a New Age and the end of the fear of the world ending, I felt much better after having made a decision and having purchased my plane ticket!  To make the most of the potent energies of the day, I decided to do a solstice ritual.  First, I wrote down everything that I wanted to release and I burned the paper.  As I burned it, I heard the Talking Heads “Burning Down the House” on Much Music.  How funny is that?  Then I wrote down a list of intentions that I wish to fulfill!  All in all, I felt that it was quite a productive day and a perfect window of opportunity to make significant steps toward my future!

After completing my solstice ritual, I was able to Skype with my mom to tell her about my plans.  When I was swatting at bugs, she started laughing and asked if there were flies, to which I answered that there are more than flies, there are tons of mosquitos and I am covered in bites!  Of course she thought that was so gross and she told me to make sure to tell my Nana that mosquitos are flying freely through the home, which would for sure be disgusting to her!  Yes, things like screens on windows are not the norm here, yet what my mom does not totally understand, is that such things have been the least of my worries during my time here in Buenos Aires!  Obviously, it has been an amazing experience and I have learned an immense amount, but I am also ready to travel on and see another corner of the world!